Category Archives: Sports

trust the process: why you should love this sixers team

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The Sixers are back after the all-star break, and are set to face the Washington Wizards at the Center on Friday night. With the recent Boogie Cousins trade, the Sixers’ future is looking better than ever – there is no better time than the present to get swept up in the excitment surrounding this team. Instead of boring (some of you) with stats and metrics, I’m going to share the personal reasons why you should love this team.

tj-and-jojo-buzzer-beaterSource: USA Today. Photo taken by Alex Subers

Jerryd Bayless

Let’s get someone boring out of the way. Jerryd has played in 3 games, and then had season ending wrist surgery. I don’t think he’s even in the Philadelphia area for his rehab.

Chasson Randle

Chasson is the most recent Sixer to join the team, after being signed to two ten-day contracts, and then a three-year long-term deal. He may have a bit of a Cinderella story career, but his dad was trying to set him up for success with the ladies from birth. On this episode of the BroadCast, Chasson says:

“My dad had a bet with his friends, and the first one to have a boy, was to name him Chasson, and his middle name was supposed to be Dames – like chasin’ girls. So that was kind of a joke that he had between his friends, and my mom wasn’t having it. So I got Chasson, but I didn’t get Dames.”

Sergio Rodriguez

Sergio was the starting point guard before TJ McConnell began his rise to the best point guard in basketball (I mean, Lebron wanted him.) Not only that, but he looks so much like the captain of the Sixers Dunk Squad!

Richaun Holmes
Richaun has great braids all the time, courtesy of his wife. Sometimes, the braids have to come out and get redone, and sometimes you just wear your hair out to practice. And that is when your coach becomes fascinated with your hair.

TJ McConnell

My love for TJ has grown exponentially this season. I mean how can you not love the most clutch player in basketball?

He also has a tendency to sprint like he’s just seen a ghost after every game winner he hits. Around the court, into the tunnel, it doesn’t matter for TJ.

TJ Run.gif
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Nik Stauskas

If you follow Sixers basketball at all, you might be aware of #RaiseTheCat, a bizarre, only in Sixers twitter movement in which fans post pictures of them raising their cats after a Sixers win. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Nik’s cat Dribbles, who unfortunately resides with his parents in Canada, wanted to get in on the action.

Nerlens Noel

No longer the flat-topped big man we grew to love, Nerlens is now the braces-ed big man that we love. He’s tough (no mouth guard) and knows when to keep his mouth shut and keep that money in his pocket. After getting punched in the face by Serge Ibaka, and somehow getting a technical himself, he had this to say (at the 1:18 mark):

Robert Covington

I’ve always been a huge RoCo fan, even when he was having trouble hitting the broad side of a barn earlier this season. He seems like a great team player, who can get along with anyone. Last but certainly not least, he’s got moves (Nik does not).

Robert Covington Running Mansource

Jahlil Okafor

Okafor has really gotten a raw deal with all of this trade nonsense. He’s not terribly fun, but man are his hands huge.

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You don’t have to love him that much, he’ll hopefully be (having a great career, I only wish him the best) somewhere else soon.

Ersan Ilyasova

I had to get some input from my roommate about why we love Ersan. She likes to consider herself the biggest fan of eastern European Sixers players around. Her favorite thing about Ersan is that he is always in the background of sideline interviews. I haven’t noticed it, but she’s the expert so who am I to question her. I mean she came up with this gem of a hashtag #Ilyasogood.

Dario Saric

Dario’s personality is really starting to shine, but it is his friendship with TJ McConnell that brings it out the most. In the beginning of the season, the two seemed to share some tense words on the court and in the huddle, but ever since this water and profanity incident, the two have been thick as thieves. Heck, after a great game by Dario, he even gets a piggy back ride from TJ through the tunnel.

Dario Saric TJ McConnell Piggy Back Ride

Gerald Henderson

Gerald Henderson is the grizzled vet of this young team, but he still earns a “Great Job Gerald” from my seats everytime he hits a free throw. He may be a vet, but he’s not above letting the younger guys know when other teams are talking sh*t. From USA Today:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers guard Gerald Henderson sent a text message to his teammates before Monday night’s game reminding them that Nic Batum had guaranteed a Charlotte Hornets victory.

The fired-up 76ers responded by beating the Hornets 105-99 behind 18 points and 11 rebounds from reserve Dario Saric for their third straight win.

“Everybody pays attention that stuff,” said Henderson, who previously played in Charlotte. “It’s not the first guarantee that has ever been issued, but I thought it was something some guys on our team would look at and use it in the game.”

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot

Before being drafted by the Sixers at #24 in the 2016 NBA draft, TLC played for Mega Leks in Serbia. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him so far this year, but nothing as much as this picture.

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Ben Simmons

There is a lot to love about the Sixers’ number one draft pick, and I can’t wait to see what his talents can bring to this squad. Ben can be credited with really helping #RaiseTheCat blow up, but my favorite thing about him is his apparent deep love for Nik ‘Sauce Castillo’ Stauskas. Just check out some of this tweets:

https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/801607593743577088 https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/802960873132204032 https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/800170343990251520

Joel Embiid

Obviously, I’m saving the best for last as Joel Embiid has more personality than any Philadelphia athlete in recent memory. He has ignited this city, and given us the superstar that we needed. I don’t even know if I can put into words how great he is, so I’ll let him do the talking.

Do you have other favorite Sixers moments? I’d LOVE to hear them. You can find me on Twitter @third_and_girl, where I’m constantly retweeting NBA things.

#TrustTheProcess

PHILA doesn’t quit – a rant

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joel_embiid_blocksource

As many of you know, I’m a die hard Philadelphia sports fan, and a shameless homer. In my mind, the refs always are making the bad call, my teams never foul, and they are always the best in the league.  I know this is not realistic, but I choose to throw my whole support behind my team, I feel like my guys need me. I’m not proud to say (or maybe I am a little) that I probably boo an official and/or the other team at least once a game. But I don’t boo my teams.

I’m also a Philadelphia Sixers season ticket member, a team that’s not known for their skill on the court, at least not yet. Last season, they had a historically bad record, but one that allowed them to get the number 1 pick in the NBA draft, and bring Ben Simmons to Philadelphia. It’s all part of The Process. Honestly, they’re sometimes a little bit hard to watch, with sloppy passing and missed shots but, I try to go to every game and get on my feet and cheer. And I don’t boo them.

The Sixers had a pretty bad showing last night, falling to the Utah Jazz 109-84.  This comes two days after taking the defending World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers down to the last play of the game before ultimately losing by 1. They only made about 40% of their field goals and had 18 turnovers, almost double what the Jazz had. But I didn’t boo them.

The stars that normally electrify the crowd weren’t on their game last night either. Joel “The Process” Embiid only shot 33% from the 3-point line, after going 4/4 against the Cavs.  Every time Embiid threw up a three on Saturday, the crowd knew it was going in. Last night, not so much. To add insult to injury, he went 6/9 from the line, leaving what should have been ‘gimme’ points off the board. But I didn’t boo him.

You love a team because they’re yours, and you shouldn’t put down the things that you love. Yes, sometimes the Sixers don’t protect the ball, and miss easy shots, and don’t play defense. Sooner or later, though, their going to start winning games. Joel Embiid is going to start putting in more and more shots that he learned from watching white people on the internet.  Ben Simmons is going to come back from injury and make no-look passes that get him compared to Magic Johnson. When they do, I’m going to be able to say I was behind them the whole way, not booing them from the top  of The Center.

This rant was brought on by listening to the guy behind me boo the Sixers for almost the entire game last night. I couldn’t help thinking how much energy he was putting into putting down a team he was supposedly a fan of.  The Center was pretty quiet due to the blow out and he would yell “(Insert Player Name), You Suck”. I don’t know if they could hear it, but if I was a player, having fans like that wouldn’t make me want to fight for them. Players and fans have a special relationship, just watch how Sixers great Allen Iverson talks about the Philadelphia fans:

I want to be apart of that group, not the group booing from the nosebleeds.

hall of fame – rio olympics:week 1

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Hey there guys! Long time no write – I’ve been glued to my TV watching the Olympics the past week or so, and haven’t really been keeping up on my reality TV.  I haven’t even watched Bachelor in Paradise! I had been putting pressure on myself to watch and recap but I’ve decided to take the pressure off. The Summer Olympics come around once every 4 years, and we’re really lucky that many of the events have been able to be shown live on the East Coast. I haven’t decided if I’m going to go back and recap the finale of JoJo’s season (which I watched not super closely with some girlfriends and wine, a decision that makes it harder to recap but I don’t regret at all) or Bachelor in Paradise, or just take a break until the next season of the Bachelor. This space is still small and evolving, so please bear with me as I figure it out.

Rio Olympics Opening Ceremonysource

As mentioned above, I LOVE the Summer Olympics. I was a competitive swimmer for 10 years growing up, so I’ve been particularly caught up in swimming. I wanted to share my favorite moments/stories from the first week of the Olympics:

1. Many people are calling Simone Biles (her haul so far – three golds with finals in the balance beam and floor coming up) the breakout star of Rio, but I was more enthralled by Aly Raisman’s story coming into Rio. At 22, Aly is the “grandma” of Team USA, as well as one of two returning members from the 2012 gold medal winning Fierce Five. In 2012, Aly was kept off the podium in the all-around competition due to the Federation of International Gymnastics’ tie-breaking rules (read the explanation here), giving Aliya Mustafina the bronze. Coming into Rio, Aly would have to beat out both Simone Biles, who is regarded by most as the best gymnast to ever live, and Gabby Douglas, 2012 gold medalist in the all-around, as only two gymnasts from one country may compete in the all-around. Gabby had struggled through the US trials, but a champion is never one to be taken lightly. During qualifications, Aly put up a score of 60.607, besting Douglas by less than half a point, and giving her the opportunity to once again vie for the all around medal.

Going into the final rotation of the all-around finals, Aly was sitting in bronze medal position behind Simone Biles and Aliya Mustafina by about one tenth of a point. Mustafina put up a sub 14 score on the floor right before Aly performed, giving her the ability to take the silver by competing on her best apparatus.  Aly NAILS her floor routine, complete with this awe inspiring first pass, and guarantees herself the silver medal.

Full disclosure, I watched this on my second monitor at work, and was definitely tearing up watching her achieve her dream. To finish a routine and just KNOW that you have won, has to be such an overwhelming feeling. I’m so proud of Aly and the entire women’s gymnastics team.

2. Although this team hasn’t been as dominant as expected, Team USA’s Men’s Basketball team has been really fun to follow. With many of the NBA’s biggest stars opting out of Rio (I’m looking at you Steph, Lebron, and Russ), we’re left with an eclectic group of Olympic rookies (plus KD and Old Man Carmelo).

The fun started even before getting to Rio with this rousing rendition of ‘A Thousand Miles’.

The guys have really been enjoying themselves in Rio, going to “spas“, roasting each other for their Snapchat indiscretions, and enjoying all the other athletes the Olympics have to offer.  So far, I’ve seen them cheering on Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Kerri Walsh-Jennings, and witnessing the greatness that is Usain Bolt.  I think they might love beach volleyball the most though. Just look at Draymond with that flag and Jimmy dancing with his cup.

If you want to keep up with any of their shenanigans, follow them on Snapchat. Draymond Green: @money23green, Harrison Barnes: @hbarnes40, Carmelo Anthony: @carmelokanthony.

3. Last but not least, the GOAT, Michael Phelps, is my favorite story of the entire Olympics. I honestly don’t even know if I can put into words how much I am in awe of his career, and how happy I am to see him finally happy and at peace with the pressure and exposure that comes with just being Michael Phelps.

I’ve followed Michael Phelps’s career since 2000, when I was 10 and still thought that I might be in the Olympics one day. He was a 15 year old phenom, taking 4th in his first Olympic final (Fun Fact: His son Boomer is closer to the age he was in his first Olympic final than the age Michael currently is now), and I wanted to be just like him. Even in 2008, when I knew my Olympic dream would never come to fruition, I still recorded every one of his record-breaking gold medal races in my childhood bedroom. The VHS tapes are still sitting there. I was disappointed when finding out about his DUI arrests, and proud of the work that he’s done to get himself back on the right track. After retiring, unhappy with the sport, four years ago, he was ready to make a comeback, one last time in Rio. And he proved that he’s still the very best.

I don’t know him personally, but the Michael Phelps I’m seeing is one that seems happy. He’s head-over-heels for his fiance Nicole, and his love for his son Boomer can be felt through a TV screen. He has a new life ahead of him, one that is focused on family instead of swimming.

So, thank you Michael. Thank you for inspiring hundreds of thousands of kids to wake up early on Saturday morning and jump in a cold pool. Thank you for making the sport I love cool for more than just one week every four years. Thank you for being the most dominant athlete of all time, and allowing us to witness it. Thank you.

Are you guys enjoying the Olympics? What are you looking forward to in the upcoming week? Let me know in the comments.

xo
Em

 

the man.

Posted in Sports, Style by

Thank goodness its the weekend, this week really seemed to drag on! This weekend, I’m ready for some relaxation: reading, cooking, (hopefully) FINALLY finishing Making a Murderer, and topping it all off with the Super Bowl! Today, I’ve got a little sports and a lot of cuteness for you!

Women & the NFL
There has been a lot of ugliness regarding the NFL and women this season (I’m looking at you Greg Hardy & Johnny Manziel).  Luckily, there are still plenty of stories about the NFL and its players respecting and honoring women, even if they aren’t the salacious click bait that has become a favorite of ESPN.

  1. The Rooney Rule
    At the NFL Women’s Summit this week, Roger Goodell announced that the league was working on formalizing the institution of the Rooney Rule as it applies to women in executive positions within both  individual organizations and the league. The Rooney Rule, as it stands, requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for a head coaching vacancy. The new rule would require both teams and the NFL itself to interview a woman for any front office or executive position that opens, in hopes to diversify leadership of teams. Who knows, maybe with more women in the league, I won’t have to hear about the Johnny Manziels and Greg Hardys of the world.

  2. Demaryius Thomas & His Mother
    Demaryius Thomas is a standout wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, and up until a few weeks ago, his mom, Katina Smith, and never seen him play professional football.  She had been incarcerated, and on July 13th was pardoned by the President, who was becoming fed up with the overcrowding of America’s prisons with many inmates who were jailed on non-violdent drug related crimes.  ESPN published a great piece on Katina’s jubilation at being able to see her son play football for the first time, but also details how difficult the transition is from incarcerated life to freedom. Imagine how different the world would look if you hadn’t been able to go outside of prison grounds since the late 90’s. Internet, iPhones, DVD players, all of these things would be new.  Demaryius treats his mother with patience, kindness, and grace as she adjusts to life outside of prison and is an up-and-coming NFL player to look up to.  To learn more about Demaryius’s story, E:6o had a great video feature about a year ago, that you can find here.

  3. Dad-dos
    So those last two were kind of heavy, so I’m here for some serious NFL daddy/daughter cuteness. As part of their “Strong is Beautiful” campaign, Pantene has created ads that features NFL superstars spending quality time with their young daughters, while doing their hair. The videos are so enjoyable, featuring adorable little girls and big burly football players struggling to do something that many parents can do with their eyes closed. A common complaint among the football players – their hands are too big for this!  To watch all of the videos, you can visit Pantene’s YouTube page (DeAngelo Williams’s videos are my favorite) or watch the 30 second ad below.

Cutest Instagram Dogs
I’ve been having awesome luck lately with seeing cute dogs on the street. In the morning, I get to see Foxy, a tiny pomeranian who is always down to say good morning. On the way to kickboxing I normally see a golden retriever puppy, going on his afternoon walk. In case you guys aren’t as lucky in the dog department as I have been the past few weeks, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite dogs on Instagram, so you can get your daily dose of cute.

  1. Samson the Goldendoodle
    This cutie can frequently be seen in some killer outfits.

  2. Bess the Wheaten
    Full disclosure: I am a sucker for Wheaten Terriers, my parents have two of them, and I treat them like my children. Case and point, everytime I talk to my parents the call ends with, “Love you guys! Tell the dogs I love them too!”. How can you not love pups with a face like this though?

  3. Brinks the Pit Bull
    This little guy always looks like he’s smiling, and whenever I scroll past him on my feed, I can’t help but smile too.

Statement Studs at Baublebar
I’ve always been a fan of the statement earring trend, but as someone who considers throwing her hair up in a top knot as “doing it”, I’ve always thought it a bit too much to wear a dangly, bejeweled earring. Enter, the statement stud. I’ve compiled a list of my favorite from one of the best affordable jewelry websites around, Baublebar.earrings

  1. Babushka Studs
  2. Crystal Ballerina Studs
  3. Ice Stud Duo
    (I’m partial to the mint pair)

I hope you all have a great end to your weekend! Who do you have in the Super Bowl? Are you #teamsheriff or #teamsuperman? I’m partial to Team Sheriff, Go Broncos!

Thanks for reading!
xxEm

sweater weather.

Posted in Sports, Style, Television by

I hope all of you on the East Coast are staying safe and warm during Jonas.  Here in Philadelphia we got about 22 inches, so it seemed like a perfect time to hunker down and write a post.

Awesome Things in the Sports World this Week

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1. The Buffalo Bills hired Kathryn Smith, the first female full-time assistant coach in the NFL.  There has been a lot of traction regarding females in a male dominated sports world, with the hiring of Becky Hammon by the San Antonio Spurs and Sarah Thomas being hired by the NFL as the first full-time female referee. Bravo to Rex Ryan on this hiring, and congratulations Kathryn!

2. Larry Fitzgerald seems to be an incredible human. When brainstorming this section, I planned on writing about him taking time to thank an elderly veteran for his service on game-day. Then, after scoring the game winning touchdown to get his team into the NFC championship game, he spends his post game interview time sending best wishes to ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen, who had announced he was undergoing treatment for throat cancer.  Its hard to root against a guy like that.

3. After saving a woman from her car during a potentially dangerous car crash, linebacker for the New England Patriots Darius Fleming didn’t go around and brag about his heroics. He simply went to the hospital to get 22 stitches in his leg from kicking in her car window to get her out, and then played in a football game against the Kansas City Chiefs that weekend.  Just a guy, doing the right thing, and putting other people before himself.

My Favorite Text-Focused Sweatshirts

sweatshirt collage

Graphic text sweatshirts seem to be having a moment and I’m all in on the trend.  I already own numbers one and two, and am looking to add three to my closet soon.

Interesting Cast Members on the Upcoming Season of Survivor

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1.The only person who might be more fun than Aubry Bracco is her grandma who seems like a total bad ass and didn’t eat chicken because “their legs were too close to their butts”. She seems to have a great knowledge of the game, name dropping Shambo and Greg Buis in her interview — two players who weren’t on the past 3 seasons.  Plus, if Survivor doesn’t work out for her, I’m first in line to buy her children’s book about manatees.

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2.Although Caleb Reynolds’s bio does not seem particularly interesting, I can’t help but get excited to see someone who has spent a summer in the chaos also known as the Big Brother house attempt to spend 39 days on an island in Cambodia. If that isn’t enough to get you excited, he chose to refer to himself as “Beast Mode Cowboy” throughout the summer.  Still not enough? Check out this gif:
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I can only hope that we get more of this on the island.
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3. Support for Debbie Wanner being the most eccentric person on that beach: she used the word Spartan to describe herself, mentions the lead of Pit Bulls and Parolees as her inspiration in life and is a card carrying member of a juggling club.  Oh, and she compares herself to Hannibal Lecter.  I’m not positive that I’ll be rooting for Debbie, but I find it hard to believe that she won’t bring some entertainment.  Girl has got style though, 17 year-old competitive swimmer Emily would love that bathing suit (who am I kidding, I would still love to rock that suit).
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Anyone else obsessed with a show that many people don’t know is still on? How about your thoughts on the games this weekend? I’d love to hear from you!

xxEmily

Love Yourself

Posted in Sports, Style, Television by

Hey there!  I hope everyone had a great weekend, and is fully charged for the upcoming week! I’m getting ready to bundle up, as we’re supposed to get some frigid weather this week, a big departure from the 60 (SIXTY, SIX-ZERO! It’s January people!) degree weather that we had yesterday.  I’m about to start cooking some game day snacks for the Clemson vs. Alabama game tonight. But first, a blog post!

Vines That Have Made Me Laugh This Week.

  1. I really enjoy LeBron. I think he’s a great athlete and he was my favorite part of Trainwreck. I love that he’s back in Cleveland, and really respect him.  That does not make this not funny.

2. I caught this sequence live.  Unfortunately, I could only relive it once as I was watching the Globes on a TV from the dark ages (aka no DVR).  Luckily Vine was there to save the day.

3. An oldie, but a goodie.

Sports Thoughts.

  1. I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m not a Steelers fan, which I’m sure is not surprising considering my extreme homer-ism for Philadelphia teams. However, as unbiasedly as I can, I think the end of the Steelers/Bengals game this weekend was atrocious. I’ll give the penalty for the Burfict hit, even though I think there was nothing he could do about it.  The real travesty of the last few minutes was the nail-in-the-coffin penalty from Adam Jones for hitting an official, which should have been offset by a penalty on Joey Porter from the Steelers.  There is absolutely no reason for a linebacker coach to be on the field when an offensive player is hurt.  Porter has been known to enjoy stirring things up, as evidenced by his inclusion on this list of top Super Bowl trash talkers.
  2. The Eagles should not hire Tom Coughlin.  I believe that he is a fantastic man and leader, as evidenced by his players’ reaction after his “resignation”, which is starting to feel more like a firing. However, the Eagles have been playing in a progressive system, and I think going from Chip Kelly’s kale smoothies and wearable technology to a more traditional system is a big change; one that might be a little too much for an already thin roster.
  3. Robert Griffin III cleaned out his locker at the Washington Redskins facility today.  He left this behind: rg3source

Best Dresses at the Golden Globes

  1. Alicia Vikander: Possibly the most critically acclaimed up-and-comer of this awards season, didn’t disappoint on the red carpet.

     

  2. Lily James: The star of one of my favorite movies of last year (Cinderella, no shame), looked gorgeous at the Golden Globes.

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3. Jenna Dewan-Tatum: I like the more traditional ball gown cut of this dress, and a little sparkle never hurt anyone.

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I hope everyone has a great week! And definitely check out the namesake of this post, my current jam “Love Yourself” by JBiebs.

xxEmily